Narendra Modi to be First Indian Prime Minister to Preside Over UNSC Meeting

In a first for India since Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over a meeting during New Delhi’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India’s former envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said on Sunday.

According to the former permanent representative of India to the United Nations, this is the first time in over 75 years that Indian political leadership has invested in presiding over an event of the 15-member UN organisation. On August 9, Prime Minister Modi is expected to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

“A first in the making… With India as President of @UN Security Council in August, an Indian Prime Minister may perhaps preside, albeit virtually, a Council meeting for 1st time on 9 August 2021,” Akbaruddin said on Twitter and shared a picture of PM Modi’s last visit to the UN from 2019.

Akbaruddin said, “Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister, who has decided to preside over a meeting of the United Nation Security Council.”

“It shows that leadership wants to lead from the front. It also shows that India and its political leadership are invested in our foreign policy ventures,” he added.

This comes on the day when India assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council. This month, the country will hold signature events pertaining to maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism.

India’s top leaders, including the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, will chair many high-level discussions.

The first working day of India’s Presidency will be on Monday. “It is a singular honour for us to be presiding over the Security Council the same month when we are celebrating our 75th Independence Day,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said in a video message on the eve of India assuming the rotating Presidency of the powerful 15-nation UN body.

India’s two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council began on January 1, 2021. The August presidency will be India’s first Presidency during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

India will again preside over the Council in December next year, the last month of its two-year tenure.

In the video message, Tirumurti said maritime security has a high priority for India and it is important for the Security Council to take a holistic approach to this issue. Peacekeeping is a topic close to our hearts, given our own long and pioneering involvement with peacekeeping, he said, adding that India will focus on how to ensure the safety of peacekeepers, especially by using better technology and how to bring perpetrators of crimes against peacekeepers to justice.

(With inputs from PTI)

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